Enzo Maresca faces the biggest challenge of his career as he returns to Manchester City for the third time, this time not as an assistant or youth coach, but as Pep Guardiola's successor. Guardiola recently concluded a glorious decade at the Etihad Stadium. Man City trusts Maresca because he understands the club's operational system, knows most of the personnel, and is highly regarded by Guardiola himself. The club believes this transition will not require a "revolution" after Guardiola's era.

Maresca is no stranger to Manchester City. During the 2020-2021 season, he led the U23 team to win Premier League 2, nurturing talents like Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, and Liam Delap. After a brief, unsuccessful spell at Parma, he returned to City as Guardiola's assistant, contributing to the historic treble win in 2023. Guardiola has spoken highly of Maresca, calling him "one of the best coaches in the world" in December 2025. Five years prior, Guardiola also remarked that Maresca had similar potential to Mikel Arteta.

Fitness coach Lorenzo Buenaventura, Pep Guardiola, and Enzo Maresca (from left to right) during a Man City training session at Etihad Campus, Manchester, England in June 2023. Photo: Reuters.

Despite Guardiola's praise, the broader European football community has yet to fully grasp Maresca's capabilities. At Chelsea, he guided the team to victories in the Club World Cup and the Conference League. A notable tactical masterclass was the win against Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the US tournament, where Maresca tactically outmaneuvered Luis Enrique. Chelsea under Maresca also secured a dominant 3-0 victory over Barcelona and held Arsenal to a draw while playing with one less player. However, his team also showed inconsistency, sometimes performing brilliantly before slumping the following week. Good results in major matches were often followed by defeats to teams like Leeds or Atalanta, and a run of only one win in seven games eventually led to his departure from Stamford Bridge.

Many within Chelsea, however, believed the team's issues were not solely the coach's fault. Poor discipline was a pre-existing problem, and a transfer strategy prioritizing young players led to squad instability. The subsequent struggles of his successor, Liam Rosenior, inadvertently highlighted that Maresca had, in fact, performed well with the available resources, even securing a Champions League spot.

Players generally hold Maresca in high regard, though some consider him overly stubborn and excessively principled. Noni Madueke, for instance, was dropped from the squad due to his training attitude. Beyond maintaining strict discipline, Maresca also strives to build a family-like collective. After winning the Championship with Leicester, his players famously visited his home at 2 AM to celebrate. This direct and uncompromising approach extends to his public persona. He is straightforward, sometimes sharp in press conferences, and once openly requested Chelsea acquire a new center-back after Levi Colwill's injury. Ultimately, his relationship with the Chelsea board deteriorated, leading to his departure earlier this year.

Maresca's coaching philosophy is heavily influenced by a "chess-like" tactical approach. Midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall noted on Monday Night Football that Maresca is "obsessed with tactics" and views "football like chess." He believes every position and combination has a specific logic and reason, requiring players to always know their teammates' positions. This comparison between football and chess was the highlight of Maresca's coaching thesis, a 42-page paper written at Italy's Coverciano coaching school, detailing the similarities between a chessboard and a football pitch. Maresca particularly emphasizes central control, mirroring Guardiola's system of inverted full-backs. He likens this playing style to the movement of a knight on a chessboard.

As a proponent of positional control, a school of thought propagated by Guardiola, Maresca prioritizes possession and a compact team formation. However, this style has not always been popular with fans. At both Chelsea and Leicester, he faced criticism for overly slow and safe play. After Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Leicester in the Premier League last season, Maresca famously retorted to fans, telling them not to expect "PlayStation football."

Maresca celebrates Chelsea's victory in the League Cup quarter-finals at Cardiff, Wales in December 2025. Photo: Reuters.

Maresca's childhood was unique. At the age of 10, the 45-year-old coach left his hometown of Pontecagnano Faiano to join the AC Milan academy. Both his father and grandfather were fishermen. In his youth, he played football in England alongside Graham Potter at West Brom, and later for Juventus with Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero under Carlo Ancelotti. Manuel Pellegrini significantly influenced Maresca, who refers to the Chilean as his "godfather" in coaching. He followed Pellegrini to West Ham, serving as an assistant and learning before forging his own path. Beyond football, Maresca is known for his love of reading. He once shared a photo of himself reading "Football and Chess" while on vacation in the Maldives after leaving Chelsea. Books like Daniel Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow" and Marcus Aurelius' "Meditations" also adorn Maresca's bookshelf.

Now, the ultimate challenge awaits Maresca at Manchester City: stepping out of Guardiola's enormous shadow to build a new era. For a coach who has never lacked confidence, this is likely what excites Maresca the most.